Conveyer



April 9, 1929. ATK|N$ 1,708,559

CONVEYER Filed March 24, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 iii ills CONVEYER FiledMarch 24, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 9 1929.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE s. ATKINS, or scnamon, rnnnsnvanm coNvEYEn.

Application fll'ed March 24, 1927. Serial No. 178,011.

.This invention relates to conveyers and particularly to conveyers whichare composed of separable links pivotally connected to each other attheir ad acent ends and carrying conveyer elements or members detachablyengaged therewith.

" One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a conveyerwhich is made up of links as stated before, but in which the links usedare of exactly the same form and character so that the same links may beused in pairs to form the chain, the links being capable of sucharrangementthat there are two spaced inner links and two spaced outerlinks. F

A further object is .to provide means for locking the pivot pin inengaged position to thereby-preventthe pivot pin from turning to aposition where it will release the links unless the links are slid uponeach other to a considerable degree.

Another object is to provide means whereby a conveyer member may bereadily engaged with the inner pair oflinks without the .use of bolts orother fastening devices and will be held firmly inposition, and in thisconnection, provide means whereby the conveyer member-may be held inengagement with the links, either closely adjacent to the pivot pin orin spaced relation thereto.

A further object is to provide each 'of these links with alongitudinally extending slot intersected by a transversely extendingweb, which Web is disposed,- not at the middle of the link, as is theusual practice, but relatively near one end of the link, the conveyingmember being so formed as to permit it to be disposed between these websof the inner links and the pin.

A further object of this construction is that the inner links may bedisposed reversely, end for end, so that the conveying member may bedisposed between the webs of these two' links in case the pin has becomelworn so as to make the conveying element oose. A still further objectis to provide the heads of the links with outwardly projected lugshaving faces extending parallel to the slots of the links, these lugsconstituting spacing members for the two inner links and pin lockingmembers for the two outer links, one of said lugs also acting as anabutment on the inner link against which the shank of the conveyermember abuts and engages.

Other ob'ects will appear in the course of the following description Myinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein F igure 1is'a side elevation of a portion of the conve er chain constructed inaccordance with my mvention.

F gure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section on the line 4.et of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a side elevation showing a different assembly of the linksto permit a different positioning of the scraper blade.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section on the line 66 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a section on the line 88 of Figure 5.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of one of the links.

Figure 10 is a perspective View of the conveyer member.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that the conveyer is formedof a chain composed of a plurality of pairs of links. Eachlink isabsolutely the same as any other link and, therefore, a description ofone link will sufiice for all. Each link consists of the body portion10, having rounded ends or heads 11 having the same width as the bodyportion, and each link is formed with a longitudinally extending slot 12intersected by a reinforcing cross bar or web 13 which is formedintegral with the upper and lower bars which constitute the body of thelink. The heads at opposite ends of the link are somewhat thickened, andat the junctions of the heads with the body of the link there are formedshoulders 14. One end of each link is formed with a laterally projectinglug 15 whose inner edge is coincident with the shoulder 14 and theopposite head is also formed with a lug 15 which is precisely the sameas the previously referred to lug except that if the first lug 15 isdisposed at the top of the link, the opposite lug 15 will be disposed atthe-bottom of the link. Each of these lugs has a flat inner face 16.

teriorly of the firstnamedpair of links to constitute the outer links.The'inner links are placed together so that the lugs 15 will holdtheinner pair of links in spaced relation, the outer faces of the headsof the links thus being flat. The outer links are assembled so that thelugs 15 project laterally outward. Holding the outer pair of links inengagement with the inner pair is the transversely extending pin 17which is cylindrical in cross section, this pin being provided withheads 18 at its ends. These heads have a width such that when the pin isturned. so as to carry the heads into parallel relation to the slots 12,the links may be withdrawn from their engagement with each other afterthe.

links have been shifted longitudinally. Preferably the heads 18 areeccentric with relation to the pin 17. Thus each head projects in onedirection somewhat more than it project-s in the opposite direction. Inactual practice, the edge 19 of the head on the shorter end thereof willinitially bear against the. fiat face of the lug 15 as shown in Figure 1so that the pin cannotrotate until the link has been shiftedlongitudinally a sufficientdistance to cause the lug 15 to escape thehead. In case, however, that wear takes place between these two surfacesso that the pin becomes loose and is not locked securely in place, thanthe pin may be turned over and the edge 19 of its longer end may bethenenga ed with the worn lug 15.

isposed between the inner pair of links ,is the shank 20 of a conveyermember 21 which may be of any suitable character but is shown as ascraper blade formed integral with the shank 20. The shank 20 carriesthe laterally projected lugs or thickened portions 22 which have a widthsuch as to fit snugly between the upper and lower bars of the link andare located so that thisalug will fit between the reinforcing cross barsof the two links and the pin 17, with the shank 20 abutting against thelug 15 of one of these inner links as shown in Figure 3. Preferably theshank 20 will be extended downward beyond I the laterally projectingportion 22 as at 23,

nally upon the outer links and the outer links.

this portion 22 also fitting between the links. In assembling the chainwith the conveyer member, the inner links are slid longitudiarelaterally separated so that these inner links may be shifted intodivergent relation to each other. Then the conveyer member may beshifted longitudinally upon the inner links until it bears against thepin, the inner links are closed together, the outer links forced inwardand then shifted longitudinally until the parts are in the positionshown in Figure 1.

It will be seen that this construction provides means for positivelengaging the conveyer element with thee ain elements without any bolts,rivets or any other fastening with its web 20. or shankitbutted againstthe upper lug 15 at that end so that any strain placed up n thisconveyer member 21 is borne y this ad acent lug 15, by the pin 17, andby the engagement of the laterally projecting portions 22 within thespacesdefined by the webs 13, the adjacent heads of the links, and theupper and lower body portions of the links. This permits the readydisassembly or removal of these conveyer members when desired. It isparticularly pointed out that the inner links are not spaced from eachother merely by the shank 20 or portion 22 of the conveyer member, butthat the links are spaced apart by the abutting of the lug 15 of onelink against the body portion of the next inner link, so that theseinner links are eld in rigid spaced engagement at opposite ends whichwould notbe the case were the links merely spaced apart by the shank ofthe conveying element.

There is a further advantage in this con,

struction. 'If the pin should become worn'or the faces of theintersecting reinforcing portions 13 become worn, the conveyer membermay be shifted in position as shown in Figure 5, that is, one of thelinks 10 of the inner pair is reversed end for end sothat thereinforcing web 13 of one link is not directly opposite of thereinforcing web 13 of the adj acent link of the pair, but they aredisposed in longitudinal spaced relation at such istancesapart that theface 22 as it may be called of the conveyer element may be disposedbetween these two reinforcing webs 13 of the adjacent links and again beheld in firm position. Thus,- the particular construction of these linksprovides for two positions of the conveyer member,

The advantages of my construction are as follows: Inasmuch as all of thelinks are absolutely alike, they may be cast in one mold or otherwiseformed without'ha'vingto form two different sets of links. This aids inthe ready assembling of the links as the only requisite is that thelinks shall be assembled so that the links of each pair are reverselydisposed to each other. Otherwise there is no particular care to betaken in the assembly of the parts. The, other pair of links, however,are assembled so that the lugs 15 extend inward instead of outward. Byplacing the reinforcing webs 13 relatively closer to one end the chainformed by the pairs of inner andouter links is increased over chainshaving alternate single and double links, the weights of the conveyermembers are decreased and thus the total weight of the conveyer,(including the conveyer chain) is very considerably reduced and the costof the conveyer is correspondingly reduced.

The conveyer members 21 are firmly held in position between thereinforcing webs 13 and the pin, and with the link of each conveyermember abutting against the face 14 of the upper rearward lug 15 of eachpair of inner links. Thus, the conveyer member is held firmly againstplay. The abutment of the lugs 15 against the opposed fiat faces of theadjacent link spaces the links from each other and inasmuch as the outerfaces of the lugs 15 are relatively long and fiat any wear is distributed. In order to detach the links from each other, they do not haveto be collapsed and then angled as do chains of that type having singlelinks alternating with double links. My chain is connected anddisconnected with the connecting pairs of links, held in a horizontalposition only, or in alignment with each other. No lateral collapsing ofthe links is necessary and they may be connected or disconnected withoutthe use of any tools whatever. By offsetting the head 18, that is havingit project from its axial center in one direction more than in the otherdirection, the pin may be reversed so as to have a proper contact withthe inner faces of the corresponding lugs 15 after the face of therelatively shorter portion of the head and the face of the correspondinglug has become worn. The pin is held against rotation which would turnthe heads into parallel re lation to the slots of the links by therelatively long contact between the end faces of the heads and the innerfaces of the lugs 15, so that one pair of links would have to move quitea considerable distance rearward in order to disengage the heads fromthe lugs 15 and permit accidental rotation of the heads into adisconnected position. This would not be the case were an end abutmenton a link provided to engage the head of the pin. In that case even aslight movement of the head of the pin away from this abutment wouldtend to permit the rotation of the head to some extent and this wouldtend to wear the confronting faces so that shortly the pin would be veryreadily rotated.

The outstanding advantage of my conveyer chain is that where all otherconveyer chains on the market known to me use pairs of bolted or rivetedconveyer members which are liable to become loose and break fromstrains, my construction entirely does away with any bolting or rivetingand the conveyer member is disposed between and detachably interlockedwith two closely adjacent inner links. Thus I eliminate the cost ofassembly, renewals and the more or less constant necessity of tighteningup bolts or rivets and do away with the necessity of constant work whilethese repairs are being made. Furthermore the conveyer member soconstructed is much lighter and consequently much cheaper to produce andthe cost of bolts and rivets and the weight thereof entirely eliminated. Only one pattern of link is made, thus reducing the cost of diesand only one pattern of pivot pin is used. Only one pattern is neces aryfor the conveyer member, thus eliminating the necessity of using a rightand left pattern therefor.

Attention is called to the fact that the extension 23 on the base 22provides against lateral strains when a conveyer is carrying its load onone side. Thus, when such strains come in operation instead of the sideor lateral strain coming only on the web 20 and against the upper andthe two middle link walls, the lower walls of the two links will beartheir share of this lateral strain. There is thus much less liability ofthe middle links becoming outwardly distorted or fractured inasmuch asthe strain is evenly distributed in horizontal section.

I claim 1. A conveyer composed of like links arranged in pairs toprovide alternately an inner and an outer pair of links, each linkhaving a longitudinal slot intersected by a reinforcing web and disposednearer one end of theslot than the other end and relatively adjacent thefirst named end of the slot, headed pins connecting said links, and aconveying member having a shank disposed between the inner pair of linksand having a base portion projecting laterally into the slots, saidlaterally projecting portion having a length equal to the distancebetween the 5 webs and the adjacent pin and disposed in and fittingbetween said webs and the adjacent pin.

2. A conveyer composed of like links arranged in pairs to providealternately an 11 inner and an outer pair of links, each link having alongitudinal slot intersected by a reinforcing web, each link having atopposite ends a laterally projecting lug, the lug at one end of the linkbeing disposed in a diagonally opposed position to the lug on the otherend of the link, the inner pair of links being disposed with their lugsextending inward, the outer pair of links having their lugs projectingoutward, headed pins connecting said links, the heads of the pinsengaging the lugs of the outer links and being held from rotationthereby, the heads of the links having a width nearly equal to the widthof said slots and a conveying member having a shank disposed between theinner pair of links and having a base portion projecting laterally intothe slots and disposed in and fitting between the reinforcing webs andthe adjacent pin, said conveyor member having a shank extending upwardfrom the base portion and fitting the space between the inner pair oflinks and bearing against the adjacent lug on one of said inner links.

3. A conveyer composed of like links arranged in pairs to providealternately an inner pair and an outer pair of links, each link having alongitudinally extending slot intersected by a reinforcing web, the webbeing disposed relatively close to one end of the link and nearer to oneend of the link than to the other end of the link whereby the inner pairof links may be assembled so as to bring said webs immediately oppositeto each other or in offset relation, headed pins engaging the pairs oflinks with each other and a conveyer member having a shank fittingbetween the inner pair of links and having a laterally enlarged baseportion adapted to fit between both of said reinforcing webs of the pairof links and the adjacent pin or between one of said reinforcing websand the adjacent web of the opposite link, when said links are disposedwith their webs in offset relation.

4. A conveyer including alternate pairs of duplicate single links, eachlink having a longitudinally extending slot, the slot being intersectedby a reinforcing web adjacent one end of the link, the links beingarranged in pairs to provide alternately an inner and an outer pair oflinks, the outside links being formed with outwardly projectingpin-locking lugs, the inside links being formed with inwardly projectingspacing lugs, said lugs being formed upon the walls of the opposing topand bottom heads of the links and. extending parallel with the slots, adouble headed pin adapted to slidably engage said lugs at opposite sidesof alternate pairs of outside links in operative engagement therewith tothereby cause the outside links to rigidlyinterlock with the pin and theinner links to freely oscillate on the pin, and a conveyer member havinga shank disposed between the inner pair of links and interlocked withsaid links.

5. A conveyer comprising alternate pairs of duplicate single links, eachformed with a longitudinally extending slot intersected by a reinforcingweb adjacent one end of the link, the pairs of links being assembled toprovide alternately inner pairs and outer pairs of links, the outsidelinks being formed with outwardly projecting pin-locking lugs and theinside links being formed with inpair of links between the reinforcingwebs thereof and the adjacent pin.

6. A conveyer comprising alternate pairs of single links, the linksbeing duplicates, each link being formed with a longitudinally extendingslot intersected by a reinforcing web adjacent one end of the slot, eachlink at its opposite ends being provided with laterally projecting lugshaving inner faces parallel to the link, the lug on one end of each linkbeing diagonally disposed with relation to the lug on the other end ofthe link, the inner links being assembled reversely to the outer linksto permit said lugs toact as spacing lugs, the outerlinks having theirlugs projecting outward, pins connecting said pairs of links, each pinbeing provided with rectangular heads at opposite ends adapted toslidably engage the inner faces of the lugs, and a detachable conveyermember having a shank extending downward between an inner pair of links,the shank having a laterally projecting base portion interlocked betweenthe reinforcing webs of the inner pair of links, and the upper and lowerwalls of the slots of said links.

, In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE S. ATKINS.

